USAR: Southern: Mark McFarland preview

The last time Mark McFarland turned a wheel at Southern National
Speedway, he took a hard left into Victory Lane.
"Southern National is where I won
my first USAR Hooters Pro Cup race in 2005," said McFarland, who will
again take the green flag...

The last time Mark McFarland turned a wheel at Southern National
Speedway, he took a hard left into Victory Lane.

"Southern National is where I won
my first USAR Hooters Pro Cup race in 2005," said McFarland, who will
again take the green flag at the Kenly, NC oval in the Naturally Fresh
250 USAR Southern Division event this Saturday evening. "It's a
track that I have driven a lot of Late Model Stock Car races at and have
had some success there in the past. It was a great place to get my first
USAR Hooters Pro Cup win at and I'm looking forward to going back
there again."

McFarland had a stint in the NASCAR Busch Series last season and didn't
race in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup division. On Saturday,he will make his
Hooters Cup return to the half-mile track behind the wheel the potent
No. 81 Knights Companies/Greased Lightning Chevrolet Monte Carlo..

"They've repaved the track this season and from what I am
hearing, it's throwing people a lot of curves," said McFarland.
"There's only been a handful of races on the new asphalt.
We'll be going in there with an open mind, trying to figure out what
the track is and what our car needs to get us another good, Top-5 finish.
It's still the same shape and style of racetrack, same banking too.
It's bound to have a lot more grip and be a lot faster this year
because of the new pavement. We've got a good team and our guys work
real hard. I've got all the trust in the world that we're going
to figure it out."

McFarland's Pete Knight Racing Team has had things 'figured out'this
season winning a pair of USAR Hooters Pro Cup Northern Division events.
McFarland, a 29-year-old Winchester, VA native,also placedsecond in the
most recent Southern Division event at Myrtle Beach, SC and last weekend
at Motor Mile Speedway (Radford, VA), heset a new track record in
qualifying for the Northern Division clash. Later in the evening,
McFarland was within a handful of laps of his third Northern Division
victory of the season when a rear end gear failure ended his night.

McFarland is currently seventh in the 2007 Pro Cup Southern Division
regular season standings with 563 points -- just 30 markers out of
second -- and looking forward to possible repeat of his 2005 Southern
National victory this Saturday evening.

"Southern National is real similar to
Motor Mile Speedway, the track where we just raced at last weekend,"
said McFarland (left). "Southern National is banked a little bit more
and the corner speed is very fast there, especially now that they have
repaved it. Turns 1-2 and 3-4 are pretty much identical corners. In some
respects, it kind of reminds you of Bristol (TN) Motor Speedway because
of the way you drop off the straights and into the corners. It has some
of the same characteristics. You don't want to be too loose getting
into the corners because that will hurt you a good bit.

"All in all, Southern National is a great place to race,"
McFarland concluded. "The last Hooters Pro Cup race I was in there
featured some great two- and three-wide racing. I'm hoping the groove
in the new pavement will widen out some and that we'll be able to put
on a great race for the fans again this time. "

McFarland and his No. 81 Knights Companies/Greased Lightning Chevy will
take the green flag in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Naturally Fresh 250
Southern Division event at Southern National Speedway this Saturday, July
21 event at 7 p.m. Eastern Time.